Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly including antilock braking systems (ABS) on vehicles. These systems are designed to increase the ability of a vehicle operator to bring a vehicle to a stop on road surfaces while also providing the stability and steering not available when wheels are locked, even if the surfaces are slippery.
It is desirable to design an ABS characterized by accurate pressure control, even though the dynamics under control are highly nonlinear and uncertain in nature and vehicles typically do not include on-board pressure transducers. It would also be desirable to develop models which accurately describe the dynamics of the pertinent processes, and to develop relationships for predicting pressure. It is also desirable to develop a theory which instructs how those models can be utilized, in conjunction with control objectives, to arrive at a near-optimal controller for an ABS. Once the relationships are in place, it would be desirable to develop a method and system for improved pressure control, wherein peak pressure is accurately attained and maintained after forced departures, and wherein the ABS utilizes an adaptive dump control to achieve minimum net dump times.